The legacy of Dave Sands, one of Kempsey's greatest ever athletes

On August 11 1952, Dave Sands tragically died in a truck accident, six miles from Dungog.

To commemorate 68 years since his passing, the Argus three weeks ago started a three-part series into the world famous boxer.

Today we finish this series recounting his tragic death and the legacy that saw him become a hall of fame member.

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When Dave Sands fought Jim Woods to defend his Australian heavyweight title, he would have had no idea it would be his last.

After winning both fights in the United States against Bobo Olson and Henry Brimm, Sands wrote for Sporting Life detailing his successes in life and goals for the future.

He had a great self-belief that he was the strongest all-rounder at his weight (middleweight) fighting in late 1951.

"I've been forced to do more travelling to gain recognition than any fighter Australia's ever had. I've had to fight more men out of my division than any Australian, and to go through worse conditions in foreign countries," he adds.

Sands' obvious goal was to win a world title and believed at the age of 25, with Australian and Commonwealth titles to his name, that his best was still ahead.

Outside of boxing, Sands used to head back home to the Kempsey area frequently, working with his brothers under the name, Ritchie Bros. cutting sleepers for Government contracts.

Perhaps one of Dave's best achievements was his family, who he speaks fondly of.

"My wife Bessie is a blonde who used to work in an office in Kempsey before we married - her name was Bessie Burns then. She was the only girl I was ever serious about," he said.

"We have three kids now (1951), Margaret and Lillian, and young Dave, the latest. They're kids, but good-looking and healthy."

"You can take it from me, whatever the outcome of my next fights, I'll go out of this fight game a contented man with that lovely home and the contentment of a wonderful wife and those extra good kids."

The house Sands speaks of is his home at Stockton, Newcastle, to which he said was nearly paid off.

He wrote how he liked to listen on the radio to boogie-woogie records with Bing Crosby and Betty Hutton his favourites whilst spending most nights at home with a needle and thread weaving woollen mats.

Sadly, on August 11 1952 at Dungog, Sands was killed in a tragic accident that saw the truck he was driving overturn at roadworks.

Police at the time said the bend was dangerous and had taken the lives of three people before.

The news of the Sands' death sent shock waves throughout the boxing and Australian community, and his passing was recognised on the world stage.

A Sydney Morning Herald article from October 29 1989, re-published in 2015 by Tony Stephens detailed the tragic reaction felt by school children who had "watched him train on Stockton beach and bought fish and chips from the family shop, hoping to catch a glimpse of the idol."

"We wept when he died in a road crash in 1952. When a schoolteacher pointed out that no tears had been shed over the death a few months previously of King George VI, the boys pointed out that enough people would mourn George; there were only nine million Australians to mourn Dave," the article read.

Children from Burnt Bridge at the September 18 Kempsey Eisteddfod wore black ribbons in his memory whilst tens of thousands who attended a boxing match at Forth, Wales, stood in silence with a trumpeter playing the last post in memory of Dave Sands.

The funeral in Stockton saw a number of wreaths laid on Sands' casket bearing the names of Kempsey and Macleay residents and organisations.

Attendance for the funeral was around 2000 people with shops throughout Newcastle closing their doors as the procession passed.

Macleay County Council was represented at the service and funeral by Mr Les Fines, and the flag at the Kempsey Municipal Council Chambers was flown at half mast.

Harry Mack, manager of Newcastle Stadium, refereed more than 75% per cent of Sands' fights left a touching tribute in the Argus, detailing his life and the quality of the man.

Throughout his writing, Mack details the beginnings of the Sands name.

"When he started to fight, he had absolutely no idea about boxing. He was a shy, bashful fellow, quite the opposite to Percy Ritchie, who was full of practical jokes and full of life. Nobody saw in Dave the fighter he became," he said.

Mack described Sands' fighting technique at the beginners stage as one you'd expect for a boy with little experience.

"He was a wild swinger, and only his hard hitting won him the fight. But it doesn't matter how you knock' em out in the fight game, the people will take to you," he wrote.

According to Mack, Dave became a polished boxer when he knocked out Ken McDermott in 11 rounds back in 1943.

The majority of people you talk to and those that write about Sands describe him as humble and shy and Mack was no different.

"He didn't like talking mostly because he was shy. When people say a fellow is shy they only mean he is a bit shy. But Dave was ALL shy. And the only time he expressed himself was when you tied a pair of gloves on his hands," he said.

"He really was a fellow you could respect. I've never known him to knock anybody, or swear, or be loudmouthed. He was always very courteous. His shyness really protected him from a lot of what you might call unsavoury influences.

"When you really knew Dave Sands, as far as anyone could, you found he was a humorist.

Mack also added some wonderful anecdotes of Sands and the strength of his brothers.

"Dave, quite dead-pan, told me another story of how, during the war, he and his brothers George and Clem, were walking one night near Newcastle Beach and were set upon by three American soldiers," he recounted.

"The Americans kept pushing the boys, and the brothers kept retreating til they could retreat no further. Then they loosed three punches simultaneously, walked over the prostrate Americans and went to a milk bar for a drink.

"It was real tough luck on those Americans to meet the three hardest punchers in Australia together."

Mack finished his article with beautiful words, describing Dave Sands the family man and the bloke no one could have a bad word against.

"It's usual, I know, to say soft things about the dead, especially when they were great boxers," he said.

"But it's just a fact that Dave Sands was a great family man and had a tremendous love for his mother.

"And it's just as usual to speak well of the dead but again, despite the petty irritations which Dave Sands might have caused people, like quick-thinking businessman, because of his unworldliness, in all the important things of life there's not one little thing which anyone can remember against Dave Sands."

Former Sydney Morning Herald journalist, Stan Baxter, also recounted a story of Sands many years after his passing.

"A party was thrown after Sands had beaten an American boxer at the Rushcutters Bay stadium. Guests drank beer and what they called champagne but was probably Sparkling Rhinegolde," he said.

"Someone wondered where the hero was. Someone else found him at Central station, sitting on his suitcase and eating a meat pie. He was waiting for a mail train to take him home.

"Asked about a second pie resting on his luggage, Dave pointed out that there would be nothing to eat on the train. His manager gave him $20."

When Dave passed his family home still needed to be paid off after the 30,000 pounds he earned during his career went on manager's fees, travel costs, tax, family expenses and generosity to his kin.

Various efforts were made to provide support for Bessie and her family and a public appeal managed to raise more than 2,500 pounds to pay off their Stockton home and create a trust fund for the family.

The fund was sponsored by The Lord Mayor of Newcastle (Ald. T. Armstrong) with an appeal from Sydney radio stations, 2SM, receiving from promises of 2017 pounds worth of donations.

A rugby league match between West Kempsey and Purfleet in late September, 1952, also saw gate takings used to support the fund.

Dave's passing came at an unfortunate time with wife Bessie expecting their fourth child, Donna - she was born in private nursing hospital near Stockton not long after his passing, according to the Argus.

Bessie interestingly also became a co-manager for Dave's protege, Bill Larrigo.

Larrigo's career ended in late 1955 with 26 wins, 20 by KO, 6 losses and one draw.

Sands' legacy is one that lives on throughout the nation.

In Glebe, a plaque erected by Tom Lamings Gymnasium sits within the city whilst two memorials exist within Stockton.

Members of the Ritchie family and the public also raised enough money recently to refurbish a memorial built in Dungog to honour Sands.

Dave Sands street also exists in Greenhill, Kempsey.

In 1998, Dave Sands was officially inducted in to the International Boxing Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in Los Angeles, and has forever been dubbed as the "boxer with the educated left hand" by the American people.

In 2003, he was inducted into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame.

At 26, Dave Sands was a boxing legend and a fighter for his people from Burnt Bridge.

He passed away with five belts - Empire Middleweight, Australian heavyweight, middleweight, light heavy and Australasian light heavy champion and as such there was no disputing his talent in the ring.

His name is one associated with wonderful tales of folklore and legendary battles and he will forever go down as one of Kempsey's greatest ever athletes but most importantly a wonderful family man and a bloke whose respect in world boxing and Australian communities was unparalleled like no other.

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